Re: Career questions: databases

On Jul 1, 5:06 am, DA Morgan <damor..._at_psoug.org> wrote:
> dreamznatcher wrote:
> > On Jun 30, 8:12 pm, DA Morgan <damor..._at_psoug.org> wrote:
> >> dreamznatcher wrote:
> >>> Hello,
> >>> I'm considering a career switch to a more database-related job, but
> >>> need help on a few questions and issues. I'm a Computer Engineering
> >>> graduate and have always felt most comfortable creating database-
> >>> driven applications, preferably for web portals.
> >>> [My questions:]
> >>> 1. What are the most viable career options for me out there? What
> >>> profile do I fit in?
> >> You don't fit into any specific hash bucket but rather likely have
> >> the ability to morph into whichever one you wish.
>
> >> Rather than approaching it from the standpoint of "I'm a square peg
> >> which hole should I put myself in?" Turn it around and say "I am a
> >> morphable peg and which hole would I most enjoy being in?"
>
> >>> 2. What is the current job market/salary situation for database
> >>> professionals? With my current skills, what kind of job might I end up
> >>> with?
> >> Best place to look is dice.com, monster.com, hotjobs.com, etc. But
> >> the job market today is not the job market of tomorrow. Certainly
> >> there are some things that are safer bets than others. One can
> >> essentially guarantee Oracle will still be around in 20 years whereas
> >> one can be rather certain a large number of products and companies
> >> will not be: At least not in their current form.
>
> >>> 3. What are the stuff I should focus/learn to advance my skills
> >>> optimally?
> >> Depends on what you want to be doing when you are 57 years old. The
> >> only correct answer is asking strangers is a sure road to disaster.
>
> >>> 4. And finally, is there any university degree (MS) specializing in
> >>> databases anywhere? (I'm also deeply interested in the internal
> >>> mechanism/theoretical aspect of databases.)
> >> What country? I'm not aware of one in the US but you might want to
> >> contact Professor Carl Dudley at University of Wolverhampton with
> >> respect to the EU.
>
> >>> _Please read my (following) profile before replying!_
> >>> [I'm proficient in: ]
> >>> - Oracle (8i, 9i), MySQL (4.1.xx), MS Access
> >>> - Have working knowledge of SQL Server 2000
> >>> - Intend to learn SQLite and MySQL 5 soon
> >>> - HTML, DHTML, CSS
> >>> - JS, PHP
> >>> - Intend to learn AJAX, JSON, ASP.Net soon
> >> To be brutally honest with you ... no you aren't. One of the things
> >> that gets me to toss a resume into the discard pile when looking at
> >> resumes is a laundry list of technologies so vast no person could
> >> possibly be competent in all of them. Above is such a list and not
> >> only are you not proficient in all of them neither is anyone else.
>
> >> Lists like this create an immediate negative impression except in
> >> HR departments staffed by former shoe salesmen. <g>
> >> --
> >> Daniel A. Morgan
> >> University of Washington
> >> damor..._at_x.washington.edu (replace x with u to respond)
> >> Puget Sound Oracle Users Groupwww.psoug.org
>
> > Hello everyone,
> > (Mr Morgan and rkc on comp.databases.ms-access:)
> > I've mailed you about this a little while ago (I actually wanted to
> > post it but had clicked on "Reply to author"), but don't want to
> > bother you further on this and through your mailbox, so I'm posting
> > this here again.
>
> > Yes, I am extremely sorry for appearing so naive and having such ill
> > taste, but I tried to express my situation as honestly as possible and
> > unfortunately that's what I came up with. I do agree with you on the
> > use of the word "proficient" -- one truly cannot be that skilled in
> > anything these days. All I wanted to say was that I know a bit of
> > those stuff, enough to get my work done, and not in standards
> > considerably horrible by any means.
>
> > I don't claim that I'm bullet-proof in any of the scripting languages
> > or web stuff I've mentioned. But I do know that I can conceptualize
> > (including front-end design and dealing with constraints and integrity
> > issues) complex database-shouldered systems (here's one for you: I
> > often fiddle with the idea of creating a singular application that can
> > integrate and manage all the possible tasks, divisions and departments
> > of an organization on the scale of the EU or UN in their totality)
> > pretty fast (fast, e.g. I was working on this project that would
> > handle $30M in the national reserve, an application that would reduce
> > stagnancy of stored cash in the banking network by branching out to
> > web portals that would circulate revenue. The idea is far more
> > complicated than can be stated in a few lines, and was slated to be
> > reviewed by the Finance Ministry. If anyone of you follow the current
> > political scenario of Bangladesh, you'd know drastic political changes
> > are going about here, and the project got lost amidst more realistic
> > problems in the backdrop of a country where computer literacy accounts
> > for less than one percent. Getting back to the time factor, the whole
> > thing only took me 2 days to chalk out, including drafting the
> > interfaces.) I'm no expert, but whenever I took a database related
> > course in my university, literally half of the CSC department would
> > crash in to watch the demonstrations. Teachers and students would
> > repeatedly inquire about my project throughout the semester, and the
> > whole faculty has repeatedly asked me to get serious in this business.
> > These are the kind of things that have got me inspired and pushed the
> > humble, stupid likes of me far enough to be seeking for your advice.
>
> > As I've mentioned, I come from Bangladesh. Lots of problems abound in
> > the tech domain here: lack of books and information, near-zero
> > advanced expertise in specialized fields, sluggish bandwidth, fund
> > crises, lack of support from the government, a dearth of firsts.
> > Therefore, questions I might be asking might actually appear more
> > stupid in your context than ours.
>
> > By posting this post (the original one and this), I didn't and don't
> > intend to appear smart, or show off (I very definitely know how
> > illiterate I am in this area), or pull anyone's leg, etc. I started it
> > because I am just an average mid-career guy who feels he has a knack
> > for something and would like to pursue it, despite all odds if
> > necessary, and just want to know what the odds are in advance and from
> > people who are most certainly more knowledgable than I am.
>
> > No offence, and thank you to everyone in all earnest.
> > dzn
>
> I'm impressed: If I can help you email me at the university.
> --
> Daniel A. Morgan
> University of Washington
> damor..._at_x.washington.edu (replace x with u to respond)
> Puget Sound Oracle Users Groupwww.psoug.org

Dear Mr Morgan,
Sorry for being such a bother. Thank you, I will indeed knock if I need directions. I'm extremely grateful. Received on Sun Jul 01 2007 - 01:21:17 CEST